Rico Gathers Looking at Catches Like Rebounds

Gathers was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team in 2015

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Dallas Cowboys sixth round pick and tight end project Rico Gathers is still getting reacquainted to the game after around eight years away from it.

As you’ve probably heard, Gathers did not play football in high school or college. He played only basketball at Baylor, and while he flirted with the idea of joining the Bears’ football team and becoming a two-sport athlete, he ultimately decided he would hold off and make the transition in the NFL—an option you have when you’re a 6-foot-8, 290-pound super-athlete.

Now that Gathers is getting down to the work of making that transition in Cowboys OTAs, he’s finding that one part of the game of basketball is helping him greatly when it comes to his development as a pass catcher—namely, rebounding.